They went on shopping trips, explored the crowded flower markets, and visited out-of-bounds Chinese restaurants where they sampled the different cuisines—Fukinese, Pekinese, Annamese, Szechuan, and Cantonese.

In a signed affidavit dated October 25, 1945, Major F. M. Small wrote: The general situation in Saigon reflects an intense desire on the part of the Vietnamese Annamese for independence and through hatred of them for the French and any other white people who happen to be in any way supporting or sympathizing with the French.